Beyoncé Says Blowback on Cuba Trip ‘Shocking’

U.S. singer Beyonce and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, right, tour Old Havana as a body guard, left, and tour guide, right, accompany them in Cuba, Thursday, April 4, 2013. R&B’s power couple is in Havana on their fifth wedding anniversary.

Asked about the negative reaction to the Cuba trip, she responded: “It was such a beautiful trip, I met some incredible children. I visited some incredible entrepreneurs. I learned so much about so many people in the country. It [the reaction] was actually quite shocking.”

The recent trip by Beyoncé and husband Jay Z had sparked questions about whether the celebrity couple bent the rules for an anniversary getaway to the island, which is off limits for Americans for purely tourism-related trips. As we have noted, members of Congress angrily asked how and why the celebrity couple was there, releasing statements and sending queries to federal officials.

Americans can visit Cuba by getting licenses to visit family members or for academic, journalistic, religious, or cultural-exchange trips. Amid the questions about the trip, the Treasury Department put out a letter saying the trip was approved as an educational exchange.

Subsequently, Jay Z released a track called “Open Letter,” in which he blasted politicians and rapped that his trip to Cuba got “clearance” from the White House. Jay-Z said of critics: “They wanna give me jail time and a fine. Fine, let me commit a real crime.” (The White House responded that, contrary to the rap, the trip was approved by the Treasury Department, not by the White House.)

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